When an R&B singer bags a Titan

TV & Radio / 18 March 2013, 08:54am

Helen Herimbi

Bagging a baller is a big deal. In the 1980s, a man who shot his way to the top was considered a gangster, but by the time R Kelly started telling women they remind him of his Jeep, it was the man who shot hoops for a living who was considered gangsta.

The basketball player, also colloquially known as a baller, became the prize every US woman wanted to possess. And they told us this every time Metro FM’s Top 40 chart was on.

Even Destiny’s Child wondered why they were stuck with scrubs instead of ballers when times got tough. But then again, they also wanted guys to buy them “automo-bills” so maybe they’re not the best example. The only successful marriage between an R&B singer and a baller – known to the public – was Tamia and Grant Hill’s. Maybe it was because Grant Hill drinks Sprite.

It seems that ballers caught on to these thirsty women’s desires quickly and they’ve been slipping through women’s hands like their fingers were greased with baby oil ever since. Just ask any member of the mostly unmarried babymomma-filled cast of the Basketball Wives franchise.

These days, “baller” is a term that has been stretched to include someone who is incredibly wealthy and even athletes in other sports – as long as there is a ball involved. Like, for instance, football.

This is the basis that two well-known Americans decided to name their reality show, I Married a Baller. The show, which premieres on Top TV’s Top One Channel tomorrow at 7pm, proves that an R&B singer whose name isn’t Tamia can also bag a baller – a footballer.

Taj Johnson of 1990s vocal powerhouse, SWV, married a Tennessee Titans running back called Eddie George (both pictured) and she took on a double-barrel surname. I Married a Baller is about their lives together.

How they run their household, deal with the needs of their child- ren and how they strive to thrive in their careers. Johnson-George is actually not only a sister with a voice but a published author too so those cheques didn’t stop coming in when she hung up the mic.

Unfortunately, this Top TV series is from 2007 and since then, Taj and Eddie have managed to air their dirty linen out in public. So in this series, you won’t see the allegations of affairs or be privy to how their family home was up for foreclosure.

But you can check out how good (and sometimes funny) things were for Taj and her NFL player husband, Eddie, “back in the day.”

•I Married a Baller starts on Top One (Top TV Channel 58) on March 19 at 7pm.